A new performance was specially staged for the guests and participants of EXPO by the State Republican Academic Korean Theater of Musical Comedy that will clearly demonstrate that there are no state or national borders for art. The joint work of Kazakh and South Korean artists will present a completely new level of acting.
The play “Morning Calm in the Alatau Mountains”, which will premiere in Astana in July, already in its very title combines the culture of Kazakhstan as the country of the Alatau Mountains and Korea – the Land of Morning Calm.
“I expect the high level of professionalism of our artists from the new production,” says the theater director, Honored Worker of the Republic of Kazakhstan Lyubov Ni. – Beautiful music was written for the performance, beautiful dances were prepared and the artists are rehearsing day and night.
There is an interesting moment in the storyline of the new production – figuratively speaking, a jump through time and space, when the audience, together with the characters, travel from ancient Korea to modern Kazakhstan.
“And this brought its own nuances while working on music for this production,” says music director, composer and arranger Georgy Yun. – To get as close as possible to the ethnic sound, we invited musicians, dancers and a vocalist from Korea. The vocalist was entrusted with the role of the Narrator, since he is a representative of the old, colorful and textured pansori, a traditional genre of singing. He will be echoed by the Wanderer, played by the actress of our theater Antonina Pyak. These are two mystical and abstract characters who hold the story together.
One of the guest musicians plays the bow-string hegym, an analogue of the Kazakh kyl-kobyz. The strings are also made of hair and the instrument also has no frets. The second musician arrived with a kayagym, the analogue can be the Kazakh zhetygen. As a result, Georgy Yun is sure that completely unique music will be presented on the stage, which has not yet been heard in Kazakhstan.
The beautiful and pleasant story of “Morning Calm…” will include all types and genres of Korean traditional art. And it will be done in a new, subtle and stylized way, assures the main director Elena Kim:
“Our production belongs to the genre of fantasy performance, and although the story begins in ancient Korea and continues in modern Kazakhstan, it is not tied to a specific place and time.”
There are six main characters in the play. The Storyteller and the Wanderer were once a couple in love in ancient times, but an evil fate separated them. And then she became the Storyteller, connecting lovers’ hearts so that they would not have the same sad fate she had. And the Wanderer follows her all over the world, unable to meet her… Therefore, they do not have scenes together in the play. But they will constantly call to each other, when the Storyteller begins to voice a thought, the Wanderer finishes it, singing it after her.
The performance included the maximum possible number of stylized scenes. For example, in the block with folk festivals, a traditional dance with masks, a dance with small drums and, possibly, “bona” - the art of rotating cymbals on a bamboo cane – are planned. And the traditional dance will be complemented by adapted elements and drums.
– EXPO is not only a phenomenon of the energy of the future, but also a highly developed culture, – Lyubov Ni, director of the theater, is sure. – It is by the level of cultural development that a state is judged, therefore participation in the World Exhibition is both a great honor and a great responsibility for us. Today we are faced with the task of adequately presenting the Korean Theater of Kazakhstan as an integral part of the diverse culture of our state.
Raushan Shulembaeva
